When a man's murder is made to look like a suicide, Ace Cooper investigates, posing as a coward during the day but becoming Dude Bandit at night.
1933 Pre-Code American Western film directed by George Melford. Written by Jack Natteford and starring Hoot Gibson, the cast also includes Gloria Shea and Hooper Atchley. The film is a remake of Gibson's Clearing the Range (1931).
Al Burton, an unscrupulous money lender, not only endeavors to have his funds returned, but also plans to gain control over the properties on which he has advanced finances by having his henchmen see to it that the debtor cannot meet the note.
When he kills "Dad" Mason, father of Betty Mason, Burton is brought face to face with a mysterious avenger, known as the Dude Cowboy, but never gets close enough to put him out of the way. Burton also finds his plans continually upset by a lummox cowhand, Tod "Ace" Carter, who has the faculty of being in the wrong place at the right time. Burton is prodded into reckless action by the actions of the Dude Bandit, "Ace" in disguise.
The film was inspired by a series of bank robberies committed by a group of thieves known as "The Dude Bandits", and the main character in the film is based on that leader of the Dude Bandits, a man named William "Dude" Williams. The film was shot in the Mojave Desert, California, which was used to represent the landscape of the western United States.
